The field of fluid bearings has developed to the point at which bearing experts are now considering the application of compliant hydrodynamic fluid bearings for applications involving loads much greater than the load-carrying capacity that these bearings have previously been able to bear. The reason for this increased interest in this form of bearing is that the low cost, long life, and almost frictionless characteristics of these bearings make them extremely desirable for many applications. One of the primary impediments to adoption of bearings of this nature in place of conventional bearings has been their relatively limited load-carrying capacity. Numerous efforts have been made to solve this problem, with results that have been mostly disappointing or which introduce other problems, such as increased cost or lowered reliability.